Christmas for Two

kaylaj711

Is anyone else having a hard time with this being their first Christmas away from home(your parent's house?)  What do you and your husband's do on Christmas morning. This will be my first Christmas away from my parents (we were married in october) and I really want my Hubs and I to start some Christmas morning traditions of our own. We decided not to buy individual gifts for each other this year, but instead we are buying one "big" thing for the house. Our house is still in the remodeling process so I haven't been able to decorate this year. I think we will at least have a tree...but it will look pretty bare (except for maybe a few gifts for the pup haha). I know that Christmas isn't about all the decorations and glitzNglam...but how can I make this Christmas with just me and my hubs feel special like it was when I was with my parents? Any cute "Christmas for Two" ideas???

Bailey17

This our first Christmas being married too, but we've lived together for a few years. We spend Christmas day with our families and spend Christmas Eve together just the two of us. Some traditions we started are:

--We always decorate the tree together

--Every year we buy a special new ornament for the tree

--We watch It's a Wonderful Life together every Christmas Eve then we exchange one small gift before we go to bed

--We adopt two kids in need every year from a local radio station event - so fun to shop for them and give a gift to a child who really needs it.

 

 

SecretServiceWife

We have hors d'oeuvres Christmas eve and watch A Christmas Story like 8 times.  We open our family presents (from parents, siblings, etc) and we usually get drunk.  Then on Christmas morning I make a nice breakfast (usually eggs benedict or something) and we open presents to each other and the dogs presents.  But mostly we just snuggle and stare at the tree.

peachesncream

A special christmas breakfast?  Watching a special movie together?

Ally

We buy ornaments when we travel.  DH buys me an ornament each year.  Helps to make the tree and our decorations more meaningful.  He would tell you I open every ornament box and say "this is my favorite" before hanging it on the tree...and they all are for different reasons!

A week or two before Christmas we make hot chocolate and walk around our neighborhood looking at the lights, then come home and roast chestnuts and watch an old black and white holiday movie.

Christmas morning we have mimosas and make breakfast together before opening gifts. 

We see his family on Christmas Eve and mine on Christmas Day, but I really do enjoy the things we do that are "just us".

riderpunk

When we moved in together the first year for xmas was a little different for me. At the time we weren't married  yet, but we just bough a house.  DH didn't like holiday anything and til this day we have struggles putting up a small tree and stockings.  What we have done was we sleep in for christmas.  We don't do gifts for each other since we spend so much on our house all the time, but sleeping in xmas is one of those things we never get to do.  We just hang out together alone for a while.

Mrs. Chip

This will be our third Christmas together. We actually spend the night with my hubby's parents on Christmas eve.  We do gifts with them that night and a Christmas Eve church service and the next morning stockings, then go to my parents for a Christmas morning.  We enjoy being with our families, I think it would be sad to just be by ourselves.  

Some traditions that we do ourselves:

buy an ornament that represents our year (new house, new pup)

we also buy an ornament every time that we go on a trip to remember the trip by 

christmas shop early the morning after Thanksgiving

 

CanadianGurl

Make a special brunch, even if you're still only cooking for two. Still do the whole nine yards, setting the table up all nice, etc. We always enjoy cuddling up and watching a Christmas flick that day. My sister and I used to do this together, so I appreciate being able to keep this tradition in some form. What about decorating a gingerbread house that day? Try doing as many "Christmasy" activites that day as possible. The more busy you are, the less time you'll have to feel homesick. Then make whatever your favorite activies were your new Christmas traditions with DH for the following years. Have fun!

titicole

Both DH and I are far, far away from family.  Last years, was our first together.  WE had a lovely candlelight meal  on Christmas eve and drank mulled wine while watching Its a Wonderful Life.

Christmas morning we have coffee or hot chocolate in bed and open our stockings together.  And stay in bed forever.  Then we go to church and come back and open our gifts and cook together making a lovely Christmas meal and just chill out enjoying each other.

omalley

I know you are doing a big combined gift but you could do stockings for each other and open them in the morning. 

MrsP7309

This will be DH's and my first married Christmas, too.  We'll probably watch It's a Wonderful Life and drink mulled wine, then go to Midnight Mass.  Then we'll do stockings, and open those the next morning with a nice breakfast.  Our families are nearby, so we'll do celebrations with them later in the day.

QT3.14

We've been married for a while now but since we live so far away from family we are used to spending Xmas by ourselves. We put up the tree and put lights in the yard before Xmas. We get "gifts" for each other even if it is stuff we need anyway and isn't really considered a gift but it is fun to open something. For example, things like socks, underwear, pjs, toothbrushes, and dollar store junk. I always get DH a bottle of liquor and hide it somewhere and he has to find it. I make a huge Xmas meal for us for lunch and we eat the leftovers for dinner and for several more days.

sgsl2009

Last year was actually our first Christmas alone and even though we wished we could have been with our families (it was just impossible), we had fun together.

Before Christmas: decorate the tree together. We also buy an ornament that represents our year (last year it was a ring because we got engaged and a puppy one because we bought our first pet, this year it'll be a first married Christmas and another puppy because we're buying another today!) We also buy ornaments on vacation so we have a starfish painted to be Santa in Key West for our honeymoon ornament to add this year.

Christmas Eve: we both come from "open one present" families, but we've started the tradition of buying each other something for bed (pajamas, lingerie, undies, whatever).

Christmas Day: I make breakfast while he makes the bed, ect since I'm usually up before him. We eat breakfast then open presents and stockings. We then usually watch a favorite movie and relax until dinner (which I plan and he helps with).

Christmas without your family doesn't have to be sad or miserable, but doing little things together always helps make you two feel like it's the start of something fun and new. We're even doing Christmas alone again this year, and we're looking forward to it and doing early Christmas with our families.